In conversations about mitigating climate change, one of the most advocated strategies is to densify. This includes reducing building footprint, freeing up ground space for greenery and preventing sprawl to untouched areas. At the same time, creating a mix of uses could improve the delivery of services with more efficient systems, cutting down carbon footprint […]
Hoi An is a city with a distinct geography: its landforms are shaped by the extensive reach of Thu Bon River, forming small islands bordered by streams. Near the mouth of the river, one such island called Con Bap is the site for Hoian D’or, a high-end real estate and resort development that harnesses the city’s pull of cultural tourism.
Spanning 24.5 hectares, the master plan of Hoian D’or takes its cue from the heritage town’s urban structure. The functions are grouped into several blocks: a ‘village’ of hotels and villas; an ecological park with local plants and herbs; and a ‘shophouse town’ at the centre, with three main axes oriented towards surrounding cultural, commercial and ecological areas. […]
There are many facets of achieving a low carbon society from envisioning to implementation, which is the theme explored in the 12th World Class Sustainable Cities (WCSC) international conference held from 27 – 28 September 2021, hosted by the Kuala Lumpur City Hall and various built environment associations. Panellists of the event sparked conversations to […]
Dear FuturArc Readers, There was a quote that I came across while doing this edition that moved me. “We don’t move through time, time moves through us.” Sarah Lynn Rees, who spoke at the Living Cities Forum organised in Australia, shared this anecdotal quote told to her by an elder in her community—she is a […]
The Minglanilla Techno Business Park (Ming-mori) is a project under the Ming-mori Development Corporation, a subsidiary of Cebu Landmasters Inc (CLI). The park is envisioned as a platform for innovation, programmed for diversity and a model for sustainability. Due to the lack of developable land for growth, be it below the mountain ridge of Cebu […]
Read More… from Minglanilla Techno Business Park to be Developed at the Islands of Mega Cebu
Industrial buildings are generally taken for granted to be unattractive and furthermore destructive, often forgoing environmental stewardship in the name of minimising costs. These assumptions are upended in the design of Paramit: Factory in the Forest project, which was conceived for the electronics manufacturing company’s facility in Penang. True to its name, the building on […]
Read More… from Book launch of Paramit: Factory in the Forest on industrial biophilic design
Anupama Kundoo is an India-born, Berlin-based architect, educator and researcher. Her research-oriented practice has generated people-centric architecture based on spatial and material research for low environmental impact, while being socio-economically beneficial. She spoke to Bhawna Jaimini on challenges of climate change, South Asian urbanism and her slow architecture practice. […]
When one grows up living in a city-state such as Singapore, one would not have much of an idea of difference between living in a city and outside of it, such as in the suburbs (there’s not much ‘suburbia’ in a small city-state). Thus, living in a city from young does veil one from the […]
Read More… from How Can We Design Cities to Be More Equitable?
FuturArc conducted an interview with Gan Yi Reng and Daniel Lim of Think City about placemaking to create more equitable cities. Here are some of their projects. GYR: When we first started in Johor Bahru, we did a baseline study and tried to understand the population and land use of the city. And from there, […]
Imagine walking along a city street under the cooling shade of large trees, with the sounds of birds chirping and the wind rustling the leaves; the fresh smell of the sun burning off the previous rain on the greenery; the wide footway, buildings and roadside fringed in green—you pause and contemplate sitting for a while […]
Read More… from Greening Asia’s City Streets: Why All Cities Should Prioritise Green Walking
In 2016, the legally binding international treaty on climate change—the Paris Agreement—entered into force. Its urgent goal is to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels. To achieve this by the year 2050, countries and cities have made commitments to reach net zero carbon—which means not adding new emissions and absorbing […]
Read More… from Porte de Montreuil: Retrofitting the first zero-carbon neighbourhood in Paris
Dotted with reservoirs to secure water for agriculture, Matsubara City has a characteristic landscape that is also speckled with tombs built in ancient times in its residential areas. Although the tombs are huge man-made structures, they came to resemble natural landforms and have become a part of the physical landscape over the long passage of […]
